Welcome, everyone, to The 42′s live coverage of today’s Champions Cup quarter-final between Leinster and Sale Sharks.
And in case you’ve been out and about, Leinster fans, some big news: your province will host a semi-final against Toulon provided they get the job done today.
That’s right: Toulon have upset Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun, earning a 22-19 victory away to the second seeds to secure their passage into the last four.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
So, Leinster’s route to the final just got fractionally easier, you could argue, in that they’ll return to the Aviva for a semi provided they make it themselves.
It’s Gavan Casey with you here, and I’ll bring you all the action you need to know about from 5:30pm at Lansdowne Road.
2 hrs ago
5:10PM
Sale Sharks are enduring a miserable season, really — although as we saw with Edinburgh last week, weird things can happen in this competition.
Still, it should be plain sailing for Leinster today. Sale are besieged by injury and, if relegation existed in their domestic league, they’d be seriously worried.
They’ve taken some absolute beatings this season, but long removed from the play-off race in England, this is all they have to play for. So they’ll surely give it socks at the Aviva today.
2 hrs ago
5:22PM
Teams
A reminder of your teams for this one:
LEINSTER: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Tommy O’Brien, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Jamie Osborne, 11. Rieko Ioane, 10. Harry Byrne, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Alex Usanov, 2. Dan Sheehan (c), 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan, 6. Ryan Baird, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Jack Conan
Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. Jerry Cahir, 18. Tom Clarkson, 19. Max Deegan, 20. Scott Penny, 21. Luke McGrath, 22. Ciaran Frawley, 23. Robbie Henshaw
SALE SHARKS: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr, 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Ethan Caine, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Jacques Vermeulen, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Dan du Preez
Replacements: 16. Alfie Longstaff, 17. Ralph McEachran, 18. James Harper, 19. Reuben Logan, 20. Jos Gilmore, 21. Dom Hanson, 22. Marius Louw, 23. Alex Wills
1′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Sale made a balls of kick-off but they’ve just won a scrum penalty on Alex Usanov in their own 22′ — huge cheers from the visiting players.
An early marker laid down by them.
2 hrs ago
5:35PM
3′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Tommy O’Brien wins a poach inside Leinster’s half.
Harry Byrne exits with the boot but there’ll be a scrum for Sale after Rieko Ioane knocked on a loose, bouncing ball.
A swirling wind in Dublin is making the kicking game quite difficult for both sides.
2 hrs ago
5:37PM
4′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Before that scrum, Alex Usanov has gone off injured. He’s replaced by Jerry Cahir. Ah, that’s a pity for Usanov.
Sale win a free at the scrum for early engagement. George Ford kicks a spiral bomb from up near halfway but Hugo Keenan marks it with ease. Great claim in the conditions. The Lions fullback exits to touch.
2 hrs ago
5:41PM
8′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Another steal for O’Brien on the ground and he chips down the right but it’s well covered by Joe Carpenter.
Leinster, though, have a lineout close to the Sale five-metre line. Big chance for the hosts!
2 hrs ago
5:43PM
9′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Blood injury to Joe McCarthy so play is stopped at the moment. Max Deegan comes into the fold and Ryan Baird moves to lock.
There’s the opener! A route-one attack for Leinster which is initially well repelled by Sale, but the incessant pressure eventually tells and Gibson-Park feeds Sheehan who squirts over under the posts.
He kind of hydroplaned over the line, good finish.
Harry Byrne converts from in front of the sticks and Leinster lead 7-0 at the Aviva!
2 hrs ago
5:50PM
16′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: Sale make it as far as Leinster’s 22′ with their first sustained attack but Leinster stop them with ease.
George Ford left with no option but to kick a bomb deep into Leinster territory, and Keenan again claims it with ease.
2 hrs ago
5:58PM
22′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: Joe McCarthy patched up, wearing a scrum-cap, and back on the field. Deegan was excellent for his 10-or-15-minute cameo.
Nothing really happening in the game over the last few minutes. Something of a stalemate during that period.
2 hrs ago
6:09PM
29′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: It’s become a tough watch, in all honesty, ha!
Kick tennis and lengthy periods of scrum resets, the latest of which has led to a Sale penalty deep in their own 22′.
They make a hames of the ensuing lineout and Leinster have a free-kick near halfway.
It’s been that kind of game for the last 10 minutes.
1 hr ago
6:12PM
33′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: Another scrum penalty for Sale in their own half. It’s their only chance of staying in this game, really, but they are dominating that particular set-piece.
Simon McIntyre having a field day against Tadhg Furlong so far.
36′ – LEIN 7-3 SAL: Joe McCarthy harshly pinged for a breakdown infringement between his own 22′ and 10′.
Sale point towards the posts, and George Ford puts them on the board from a central position.
That makes it a four-point game! And it is tight, it’s just that Sale have virtually no threat in possession, so it feels a lot safer than 7-3 at the moment.
Leinster fashion some space down the right-hand side for Ryan Baird, who is basically over the line when he pops the ball back inside to Keenan for the score.
Byrne’s conversion from the right drifts wide, but Leinster finally have a cushion!
Sale are also down to 13 men temporarily, with a second yellow in there somewhere that I missed — apologies.
The All Black applies the finish but it was all about the aerial take beforehand by Hugo Keenan, who has been the clear man of the match — at least for this writer.
Leinster cutting loose, now, and Sale look a beaten docket after a huge effort for 45 minutes or so.
64′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Tommy O’Brien gets in on the act.
He calls for the chip over the top from Byrne, who supplies it.
There’s a wonky bounce, a ricochet off a Sale defender in the air, and the ball drops at the mercy of O’Brien, who just has to dive on it over the line.
Byrne dinks over the conversion once more.
59 mins ago
7:10PM
68′ – LEIN 33-6 Sale Sharks: Official attendance is 18,833. It doesn’t look like there are that many people in the stadium, but hey ho.
Alex Wills crosses in the left-hand corner after a nice offload in the build-up by Tom O’Flaherty. Lovely score, and a tiny bit of consolation for the travelling fans.
74′ – LEIN 36-13 SAL: Harry Byrne chips over three points after a sustained Leinster attack on the Sale 5′ and multiple offsides.
Conservative option, maybe, but I guess the thinking is that there’s no point in risking players’ bodies with another goal-line assault when it’s not needed!
Try for Leinster! Full-time: Leinster 43-13 Sale Sharks
81′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Tommy O’Brien once more!
Dan Sheehan pounces on the loose ball from a Sale lineout and makes a linebreak before teeing up O’Brien, who just about makes it to the line for his second.
Harry Byrne chips over with the clock red, and Leinster will face Toulon in a home Champions Cup semi-final on the May Bank Holiday Weekend!
41 mins ago
7:28PM
That's all, folks
Thanks for joining me for live updates today.
Ciarán Kennedy will have a match report and reaction from the Aviva.
Enjoy your evenings, everybody, and catch you for the next one.
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Leinster 43-13 Sale Sharks, Champions Cup quarter-final
Welcome, everyone, to The 42′s live coverage of today’s Champions Cup quarter-final between Leinster and Sale Sharks.
And in case you’ve been out and about, Leinster fans, some big news: your province will host a semi-final against Toulon provided they get the job done today.
That’s right: Toulon have upset Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun, earning a 22-19 victory away to the second seeds to secure their passage into the last four.
So, Leinster’s route to the final just got fractionally easier, you could argue, in that they’ll return to the Aviva for a semi provided they make it themselves.
It’s Gavan Casey with you here, and I’ll bring you all the action you need to know about from 5:30pm at Lansdowne Road.
Sale Sharks are enduring a miserable season, really — although as we saw with Edinburgh last week, weird things can happen in this competition.
Still, it should be plain sailing for Leinster today. Sale are besieged by injury and, if relegation existed in their domestic league, they’d be seriously worried.
They’ve taken some absolute beatings this season, but long removed from the play-off race in England, this is all they have to play for. So they’ll surely give it socks at the Aviva today.
A reminder of your teams for this one:
LEINSTER: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Tommy O’Brien, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Jamie Osborne, 11. Rieko Ioane, 10. Harry Byrne, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Alex Usanov, 2. Dan Sheehan (c), 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan, 6. Ryan Baird, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Jack Conan
Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. Jerry Cahir, 18. Tom Clarkson, 19. Max Deegan, 20. Scott Penny, 21. Luke McGrath, 22. Ciaran Frawley, 23. Robbie Henshaw
SALE SHARKS: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr, 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Ethan Caine, 3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 5. Ben Bamber, 6. Jacques Vermeulen, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Dan du Preez
Replacements: 16. Alfie Longstaff, 17. Ralph McEachran, 18. James Harper, 19. Reuben Logan, 20. Jos Gilmore, 21. Dom Hanson, 22. Marius Louw, 23. Alex Wills
1′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Sale made a balls of kick-off but they’ve just won a scrum penalty on Alex Usanov in their own 22′ — huge cheers from the visiting players.
An early marker laid down by them.
3′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Tommy O’Brien wins a poach inside Leinster’s half.
Harry Byrne exits with the boot but there’ll be a scrum for Sale after Rieko Ioane knocked on a loose, bouncing ball.
A swirling wind in Dublin is making the kicking game quite difficult for both sides.
4′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Before that scrum, Alex Usanov has gone off injured. He’s replaced by Jerry Cahir. Ah, that’s a pity for Usanov.
Sale win a free at the scrum for early engagement. George Ford kicks a spiral bomb from up near halfway but Hugo Keenan marks it with ease. Great claim in the conditions. The Lions fullback exits to touch.
8′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Another steal for O’Brien on the ground and he chips down the right but it’s well covered by Joe Carpenter.
Leinster, though, have a lineout close to the Sale five-metre line. Big chance for the hosts!
9′ – LEIN 0-0 SAL: Blood injury to Joe McCarthy so play is stopped at the moment. Max Deegan comes into the fold and Ryan Baird moves to lock.
10′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Dan Sheehan!
There’s the opener! A route-one attack for Leinster which is initially well repelled by Sale, but the incessant pressure eventually tells and Gibson-Park feeds Sheehan who squirts over under the posts.
He kind of hydroplaned over the line, good finish.
Harry Byrne converts from in front of the sticks and Leinster lead 7-0 at the Aviva!
16′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: Sale make it as far as Leinster’s 22′ with their first sustained attack but Leinster stop them with ease.
George Ford left with no option but to kick a bomb deep into Leinster territory, and Keenan again claims it with ease.
22′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: Joe McCarthy patched up, wearing a scrum-cap, and back on the field. Deegan was excellent for his 10-or-15-minute cameo.
Nothing really happening in the game over the last few minutes. Something of a stalemate during that period.
29′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: It’s become a tough watch, in all honesty, ha!
Kick tennis and lengthy periods of scrum resets, the latest of which has led to a Sale penalty deep in their own 22′.
They make a hames of the ensuing lineout and Leinster have a free-kick near halfway.
It’s been that kind of game for the last 10 minutes.
33′ – LEIN 7-0 SAL: Another scrum penalty for Sale in their own half. It’s their only chance of staying in this game, really, but they are dominating that particular set-piece.
Simon McIntyre having a field day against Tadhg Furlong so far.
36′ – LEIN 7-3 SAL: Joe McCarthy harshly pinged for a breakdown infringement between his own 22′ and 10′.
Sale point towards the posts, and George Ford puts them on the board from a central position.
That makes it a four-point game! And it is tight, it’s just that Sale have virtually no threat in possession, so it feels a lot safer than 7-3 at the moment.
37′ – LEIN 7-3 SAL: Robert du Preez is binned for a deliberate knock-on which denies a linebreak near halfway for Josh van der Flier.
Sale down to 14 as we approach the break.
38′ – LEIN 7-3 SAL: Sale with something of a goal-line stand after the yellow, and they eventually exit up towards halfway.
A missed chance for Leinster, and this remains a four-point game heading towards the turnaround.
Well, that was a half for the purists.
Sale Sharks’ scrum and solid defence has kept them well in this game.
The half ends with an attempted drop-goal by George Ford that flies miles wide.
But Leinster will be frustrated by elements of their first-half performance. Just an early Dan Sheehan try to show for their attacking efforts so far.
It’s a close one!
Catch you in 15 minutes.
42′ – LEIN 7-3 SAL: Another brilliant goal-line stand — or close enough — by Sale!
Jacques Vermeulen wins the poach penalty and the away players celebrate wildly.
Another chance missed by Leinster to stretch their lead to two scores.
44′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Hugo Keenan!
There it is!
Leinster fashion some space down the right-hand side for Ryan Baird, who is basically over the line when he pops the ball back inside to Keenan for the score.
Byrne’s conversion from the right drifts wide, but Leinster finally have a cushion!
Sale are also down to 13 men temporarily, with a second yellow in there somewhere that I missed — apologies.
47′ – LEIN 12-6 SAL: George Ford chips over a penalty and Sale are back within a score.
They’re also back up to 14 men, with the return of Du Preez who was binned before half-time.
51′ – LEIN 12-6 SAL: It was prop Simon McIntyre who got that second Sale yellow, by the way, for making contact with James Ryan’s head in a tackle.
54′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Ryan Baird!
A wonderful team try, finished by Baird in an acre of space down the left.
Great pass by Jack Conan to put his fellow back row away.
And Harry Byrne converts from the left-hand touchline!
Given Sale’s limitations in attack, that could well be that. A crucial third try for Leinster in this contest.
58′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Rieko Ioane wraps it up!
The All Black applies the finish but it was all about the aerial take beforehand by Hugo Keenan, who has been the clear man of the match — at least for this writer.
Leinster cutting loose, now, and Sale look a beaten docket after a huge effort for 45 minutes or so.
Byrne adds the extras.
64′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Tommy O’Brien gets in on the act.
He calls for the chip over the top from Byrne, who supplies it.
There’s a wonky bounce, a ricochet off a Sale defender in the air, and the ball drops at the mercy of O’Brien, who just has to dive on it over the line.
Byrne dinks over the conversion once more.
68′ – LEIN 33-6 Sale Sharks: Official attendance is 18,833. It doesn’t look like there are that many people in the stadium, but hey ho.
69′ – Try for Sale Sharks!
Alex Wills crosses in the left-hand corner after a nice offload in the build-up by Tom O’Flaherty. Lovely score, and a tiny bit of consolation for the travelling fans.
Conversion from the left-hand touchline is good.
74′ – LEIN 36-13 SAL: Harry Byrne chips over three points after a sustained Leinster attack on the Sale 5′ and multiple offsides.
Conservative option, maybe, but I guess the thinking is that there’s no point in risking players’ bodies with another goal-line assault when it’s not needed!
81′ – TRY FOR LEINSTER! Tommy O’Brien once more!
Dan Sheehan pounces on the loose ball from a Sale lineout and makes a linebreak before teeing up O’Brien, who just about makes it to the line for his second.
Harry Byrne chips over with the clock red, and Leinster will face Toulon in a home Champions Cup semi-final on the May Bank Holiday Weekend!
Thanks for joining me for live updates today.
Ciarán Kennedy will have a match report and reaction from the Aviva.
Enjoy your evenings, everybody, and catch you for the next one.
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